Coaches warned about bullying replacement officials

As Peter King pointed out a few weeks ago in his Monday Morning Quarterback column, a replacement official picked up a flag for pass interference after the official was berated by a head coach.

Though there’s no evidence that any official changed his (or technically her) mind on a call over the reaction from a coach, the league didn’t like the reactions of some of the coaches to some of the officials.

Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reports that NFL sent a memo this week warning the coaches against bullying the referees. One coach who prompted the memo was 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.

Glazer also reports that Harbaugh was quietly fined for his “headache” comments about the officials during the preseason. It’s unknown whether other coaches who said anything directly or indirectly critical about the officials were fined.